This movie is better than "Cinderella," a different princess movie I've seen, but I hated "Cinderella." During "The Princess and the Frog" I laughed a lot, like when the firefly passed gas. That made me laugh! My favorite character was the villain, Dr. Facilier. I liked him because he had magic cards. The cards would change or show the past, present, and the future. They changed it into a bad future for some of the characters.

In the movie, Tiana made a lot of important decisions, though a friendly character decided one thing for her - to kiss the frog and turn him into a human. Tiana said it was a good thing.

What I disliked most was when Tiana kissed the frog, because it was nasty gross.

If I made the movie, I would change it into a boy movie, a war movie like "G.I. Joe." I would change their names into "Axe-guy" and "Super-fantastic guy."

The bravest character was the firefly, and for his courage, he got his biggest wish.

Marco Ponce, 11

What I liked best about "The Princess and the Frog" movie is that the main character was African American and that it was set in present time, not in fairy tale time like other Disney movies. I also like that Tiana's character has more traits than past princess characters like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. Tiana is confident and wants to complete her family dream. Tiana also made important decisions thinking about the values her father passed on, like hard work, faith, and love.

As I watched the film, at the beginning I felt it would be a normal princess movie, with the same bad guy, same enchanted forest. But when the climax arrived, it was very dramatic; there was an unexpected tragedy that was very hard to watch. At the end I felt sad but I also had hope that the villain would be punished.

My least favorite part was a boat scene in which Prince Naveen lost his confidence at a very important moment; if he liked Tiana so much and if they were good friends, why not act and make a decision? Prince Naveen's character was very afraid to be brave. Speaking of which, my favorite character was Ray the firefly because he was so courageous and was devoted to his great love, Evangeline.

If I had made this movie, I would only change the part where the Prince and Tiana are transformed and only give them a frog head instead of a whole frog body. This would give them less to worry about. Overall, the movie was funny, dramatic, and good for the whole family; some parents saw the movie too and they laughed a lot.

I thought the movie was really funny. I liked it when the princess and the frog lived happily ever after. I also liked it because Mama Odie made me laugh. I disliked it when the princess and the prince turned into frogs because people tried to kill them. (Also, I don't like frogs.)

I like the princess because she was strong and she worked hard to get her restaurant. She also made important decisions for herself like about whether she wanted to turn into a human or not.

If I made a movie like this, I would make the princess and the frog the only characters. Then they would have to find out a way to become human without any help.

I think the bravest person is the princess because she made a lot of important decisions and because when she was a frog, people tried to kill her. Overall, that was a great movie. I would recommend it to everybody. They should watch the movie because it would make them laugh.

I thought the movie was really exciting. I liked it when the princess kissed the frog. After that, the girl turned into a frog. I didn't like it when the princess and the prince turned into frogs because then they traveled into more trouble.

I liked Tiana best because she was brave. She was independent and went to Mama Odie's house to turn back into a human.

If I made a movie like this, I would make it with a princess, a prince, and a frog. I think the princess was the bravest person because people caught her but she escaped. I would recommend this movie to you because the two frogs were very funny.

Fatima Santos, 9

This movie was really fun. My favorite part happened when the frogs got all tongue-tied. Ray the firefly was my favorite character because he was brave and funny, and when he tried to light up his butt, he couldn't. Ray gave a very important gift to save Tiana and so he was the best character.

It's rude to try and take over other people's bodies, so my least favorite part was when the Shadow Man chased Prince Naveen and Tiana around New Orleans, trying to take them.

Tiana ignored the Shadow Man at important moments. She made her own decisions for good. She was very smart and never paid attention to people who were evil; she never fell for tricks! Prince Naveen was a little lazy, but he was nice.

If I made the movie, I would not have any sad moments and I would protect Ray the firefly. He's brave but he's also very tiny.

I liked when they got married because I loved the princess dress. I did not like it when the shadows were looking for the frog because it was scary.

I like Tiana the best. I liked her best because she had a good attitude about helping the frog. She made her own decisions, too.

I wouldn't change anything about the movie. Tiana was the bravest character in this movie. She was brave when she helped the prince. I would recommend it to people because it's happy, sad, and scary, too.

826 Valencia

Founded in 2002 by Nínive Calegari and Dave Eggers, 826 Valencia is a San Francisco nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their writing skills.

Free student programming and services include year-round tutoring, field trips, specialized workshops, in-school assistance and student publishing. The students writing for The Chronicle this month are from the Young Apprentice Workshop and After School Tutoring.

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